Weekly Information - Thursday 25th February 2021
-
All - Government Scheme to increase data allowances to support children studying remotely (UPDATED NETWORKS OFFERED)
-
All - Hot Chocolate with the Head
-
All - Student Showcase 25th February
-
All - A Parents' Guide to Careers
-
All - Careers in the Army Webinar 5th March
-
All- TikTok Family Safety Information
-
Y7-11 - Century Tech Spring Challenge
-
Y9/10/11 - Choosing subjects to study in the future
-
Y11/13 - Law Virtual Work Experience with Browne Jacobson during the Easter break
-
Y11/13 - Maintenance Apprentices Wanted
-
Y13 - Preparing to Apply for Student Finance
-
Y10/11/12/13 - Virtual Higher Education and Apprenticeship Fair 17th March
-
Y13 - Capgemini Application Workshop for Female Students
Dear Parents,
As we have previously written to you, the government is running a scheme to temporarily increase data allowances for mobile phone users on certain networks. This is so that our children and young people can access remote education if their face-to-face education is disrupted.
More mobile operators are now offering the scheme and the following networks offer increased mobile data. Children with access to a mobile phone on one of the following networks might be able to benefit:
BT Mobile, iD Mobile, Lycamobile, Three, Smarty, O2, Virgin Mobile, EE, Vodaphone, Tesco Mobile, Sky Mobile
If you wish to apply for this increased data please complete the form which is linked below.
This form will then be processed and sent to the mobile operators who will be in contact with the mobile account holder directly.
Kind regards,
The Senior Leadership Team
Simon Curzon
[email protected]
Each week our staff are asked to highlight work done by students that they think shows personal excellence, is reflective of our visions and values at JTHS, and is worthy of extra recognition. In this newsletter each week we'd like to share some of this with you, to celebrate the achievements within our school community and thank our students for all of their efforts. Please take a few moments to enjoy some of the brilliant pieces of work linked below. Thank you.
Students can find out about the full range of Army careers with our virtual event on 5th March @11.30am. We’ll explore the qualifications on offer such as apprenticeships and degrees, and the different routes into the Army including the Army Foundation College, Harrogate. Register here.
|
We have signed up to a weekly Online Safety Update. This week we have been provided with an information leaflet about TikTok and how families can take steps to keep children and young people safe when using this platform. There is a section within the leaflet that outlines 'Top 10 TikTok Family Safety Tools' which is a really useful read to help parents ensure safety when using this app.
Dear Parents,
At John Taylor Students in Years 7-11 have access to the online learning platform, Century Tech, which they may have used in some of their core subjects, Maths, English and Science. Students may be more familiar with the Maths side of Century but in the coming months it is hoped more will access the English and Science content too.
Century Tech is used either under the instruction of teachers through targeted set tasks during lessons or for homework, or pupils can work independently at home if they want additional practice. Once on they can work independently on their "nugget" timeline and Century Tech's AI will analyse their work and provide further support and stretch or challenge as they progress.
During the month of March Century Tech is running a "Spring Challenge" to see which schools use the platform the most. It would be great if pupils want to practice anything independently that they login and have a go at any of the learning nuggets on their timeline.
Pupils can access Century Tech by going to the website www.century.tech and then selecting the "login with office 365 option" and using their normal JTHS school email and password to access the programme. Attached is a poster promoting the Spring Challenge and also giving some suggestions on what to do.
We will be promoting this in school and we hope students enjoy rising to the Century Spring Challenge!
Kind regards,
Simon Curzon
Director of Numeracy/Senior Leadership Team
SImon Curzon
[email protected]
To support students in choosing subjects to study in the future we have a full set of subject guides in our LRC on a short-term loan basis. Free electronic versions can also be accessed for this week only for Business, Chemistry, Computer Science, English, History, Languages, Physics and Sociology. To view a free subject guide electronically please click here
Browne Jacobson are a top 50 law firm with offices all over the UK and revenues of £50million. These two days in the Easter Holidays are going to provide students with a really great insight into how a law firm works and makes money, the different departments they have, and an opportunity to talk with lots of different solicitors.
Law Virtual Work Experience:
- Tuesday 6th & Wednesday 7th April, 9am - 4pm each day
- Partner welcome talk
- An insight to law, their different departments and areas of work (including non law routes)
- Breakout rooms with solicitors in talking about different areas of law
- Workshops & interactive sessions
- Open to all Y11 & Y12 students
Application Link:
https://www.research.net/r/Law-WEX
Maintenance Apprenticeships with our Partner Companies
Are you passionate about engineering, technology and getting hands on?
A range of local firms are looking for Maintenance Apprentices to work as part of their business.
Our partner company apprenticeships mean you will be employed from the beginning by an engineering firm ('home company') but your training will take place within our Apprentice Development Centre, on-site at Toyota UK, learning from the best in the industry. Find out more about the firms you could be working for below!
For the first two years of the apprenticeship, you will mainly train at Toyota with some placement weeks within your home company.
The final two years you will be mainly based at your home company with some occasional training at Toyota.
To be eligible to apply you must possess or be anticipating a minimum of 4 GCSE passes at grade 4/C or above, including Maths, Science and English.
For more information about the scheme, take a look at the 'What will I do?' and 'FAQ's' sections.
For further information please click here
If your son or daughter has applied to university to start a course in 2021 you will be able to apply for a student loan from March. You may want to sign up for an e-mail alert to inform you when the application window opens click here to register for an alert e-mail.
Student Finance England is a service provided by the Student Loans Company. They provide financial support on behalf of the UK Government to students from England entering higher education in the UK.
You may be eligible for funding from Student Finance England if:
- you’re a UK national or you have settled or pre-settled status in the UK under the EU settlement scheme
- you normally live in England
- you’ve lived in the UK for 3 years before starting your course
- you’ll be studying an eligible higher education course at a UK college or university
- you do not already have a higher education qualification
If you’re an EU national and you want more information on whether you’ll be eligible for student finance in 2021 to 2022, visit www.gov.uk/guidance/studying-in-the-uk-guidance-for-eu-students.
Key Facts for Parents about Student Loans:
- Students don’t need to wait until they have a confirmed place at uni or college to apply for finance – they can use their preferred choice and update it online later if they need to.
- Once your child has applied, you’ll get an email within 24 hours with a link to submit your household income details. You’ll need to create your own account if you haven’t already got one.
- When you register you’ll need to give Student Finance England your National Insurance number and your personal income for the previous tax year.
- It’s really important that you send Student Finance England your income details and any evidence they ask for as soon as possible so they can make sure that your child gets as much as they’re entitled to. They’ll only get the minimum amount of finance until you give them your details.
- Once Student Finance England has received your child's application and any evidence they need, they’ll assess how much they can get and send them a Student Finance Entitlement letter. Your child should take this to their university or college when they register.
- Once the uni or college let Student Finance England know they’ve started their course, they'll make the first of three Maintenance Loan payments into your child’s bank account and pay the Tuition Fee Loan directly to their university or college.
Student finance explained:
What’s available
During the academic year most students will have 2 costs to cover: tuition fees and living costs.
Tuition Fee Loan
For a full-time undergraduate course, you can get up to £9,250 as a Tuition Fee Loan which Student Finance England will pay directly to your son/daughter's university or college.
Maintenance Loan
You can also apply for a Maintenance Loan. Student Finance England will use your household income and where you’re living during the academic year to calculate how much you can get. Household income is made up of your parents’ or partner’s income.
Visit their student finance calculator for an estimate of how much you could get in 2021 to 2022.
You can also check out the examples in the tables for a quick view of how much is available:
Living at home during term time
Your household income |
How much Maintenance Loan you can get |
Under £25,000 a year |
£7, 987 |
£35,000 a year |
£6,642 |
£50,000 a year |
£4,623 |
Over £58,220 a year |
£3,516 |
Living elsewhere, studying outside London
Your household income |
How much Maintenance Loan you can get |
Under £25,000 a year |
£9,488 |
£35,000 a year |
£8,130 |
£50,000 a year |
£6,092 |
Over £62,286 a year |
£4,222 |
Living elsewhere, studying in London
Your household income |
How much Maintenance Loan you can get |
Under £25,000 a year |
£12,382 |
£35,000 a year |
£11,001 |
£50,000 a year |
£8,929 |
Over £70,004 a year |
£6,858 |
Studying abroad
Your household income |
How much Maintenance Loan you can get |
Under £25,000 a year |
£10,866 |
£35,000 a year |
£9,495 |
£50,000 a year |
£7,437 |
Over £65,919 a year |
£5,380 |
Extra help
Student Finance England also offers extra support if you have a child or adult dependant who relies on you financially.
There’s also extra help available for students with a disability.
Find out more about what you can get in 2021 to 2022:
Childcare Grant
Childcare Grant is a grant that is based on your household income, you do not have to pay this back once you’ve finished your course.
It does not affect how much Maintenance Loan you can get. The grant can help you pay for childcare during your studies, it’s paid directly to your childcare provider through an online payment system.
You can apply for Childcare Grant at the same time as your main student finance application, you may be eligible for Childcare Grant if you:
- are a full-time student
- have children under 15, or under 17 if they have special educational needs
- use a childcare provider who is registered with Ofsted
Childcare Grant can help to pay for up to 85% of your weekly childcare costs, up to a maximum cap of:
- £179.62 per week for one child
- £307.95 per week for two or more children
Find out more about Childcare Grant at www.gov.uk/childcare-grant.
Parents’ Learning Allowance
Parents’ Learning Allowance is a grant that could help you with any learning costs during your course, you do not have to pay this back once you’ve finished your course.
You can apply for the grant at the same time as your main student finance application, it will not affect how much Maintenance Loan you get.
The maximum amount you can get is £1,821 and how much you get is based on your household income.
Find out more about Parents’ Learning Allowance at www.gov.uk/parents-learning-allowance.
Adult Dependants’ Grant
Adult Dependants’ Grant is a grant you can get if you have an adult who is financially dependent on you, you do not have to pay this back once you’ve finished your course.
The maximum amount you can get is £3,190, you can apply for this at the same time as your main student finance application.
Find out more about Adult Dependants’ Grant at www.gov.uk/adult-dependants-grant.
Disabled Students’ Allowance
Disabled Students’ Allowance provides extra support to students with a disability, you can apply for it at the same time as your main student finance application. You are eligible to claim Disabled Students' Allowance if you have a:
- specific learning difficulty, for example dyslexia or ADHD
- mental health condition, for example anxiety or depression
- physical disability, for example if you have to use crutches, a wheelchair or a special keyboard
- sensory disability, for example if you’re visually impaired, deaf or have a hearing impairment
- long-term health condition, for example cancer, chronic heart disease or HIV
You do not have to pay this back once you’ve finished your course.
Disabled Students’ Allowance offers full-time undergraduate students a maximum allowance of £25,000, this can be used to help pay for:
- specialist equipment
- a non-medical helper such as a scribe or British Sign Language interpreter
- travel costs
Find out more about Disabled Students’ Allowance at www.gov.uk/disabled-students-allowance-dsa.
Repaying your student loan
You won’t start repaying your student loan until the April after you’ve finished or left your course and you’re earning over the repayment threshold of £511 a week, or £2,214 a month.
How much you repay is based on how much you earn, not how much you’ve borrowed.
You’ll repay 9% of anything over the threshold amount. Find out more about repaying your student loan at www.gov.uk/repaying-your-student-loan
Other sources of information:
Other sources of information about student loans can be found on the Money Saving Expert website. Martin Lewis has summarised this information in a video below: Alternatively, you can visit the site directly by clicking here
Please click here to visit the Government site for student finance.
If students were unable to attend the virtual fair advertised last October, then they will have a further opportunity to attend in March.
UK University & Apprenticeship Search Fair
Wednesday 17th March | 12pm - 6pm | 100+ Exhibitors
With university open days on hold, our UK University & Apprenticeship Search Virtual Fair will be returning on March 17th to help students from Years 10, 11, 12 & 13 explore their post 18 options, with over 100 universities, colleges and apprenticeship providers from across the UK attending. Students will be able to speak directly with admissions teams and recruitment officers from Russell Group, Red Brick, Modern & Specialist universities, along with higher & degree apprenticeship providers. The event will also feature virtual campus tours so students can explore universities from their laptop.
You can view the list of exhibitors who’ve signed up so far here.
10 live webinars on a range of subjects will run throughout the day such as Choosing a Course, Careers & Employability, Degree Apprenticeships and Student Finance.
Capgemini Application Workshop - West Midlands
- Tuesday 16th March, 4pm - 5:30pm
- Insight to the £20billion Technology & Consulting firm Capgemini
- If you are interested in Technology and considering a Degree Apprenticeship then this is for you!
- How to apply / pass Capgemini's selection process (FAST TRACKS for all students on the webinar)
- Open to all Y13 female students
- Get your questions answered by the recruitment team
- Parents are encouraged to join!
- FREE event (limited places, first come first serve)
Application Link:
https://www.research.net/r/Capgemini-16-March
We have very limited places (20 spaces) so if interested please book on ASAP to secure your place. All students on the webinar will be given a fast track link to Capgemini's Technology Degree Apprenticeship Program giving you the ultimate head start to your tech career!